Category Archives: Business incentives

A recent paper by me and a research analyst at the Upjohn Institute, Nathan Sotherland, analyzes the effects of “place-based” college scholarship programs on local economic development. Over 50 of these programs have been created since the 2005 creation of … Continue reading →

Professor William Lazonick of the University of Massachusetts Lowell has a provocative recent paper, written for the Institute for New Economic Thinking, outlining his views on how some of the adverse trends in income inequality in the U.S. are due … Continue reading →

I have a new paper published that bears on the following important issue: when will local economic development incentives – various types of customized tax breaks or services to individual businesses – be most effective in helping improve economic well-being? … Continue reading →

A new paper by me and George Erickcek on incentives was published online today in the journal Economic Development Quarterly. The online version is behind a paywall for non-academic readers, but it is quite similar to a prior working paper … Continue reading →

A high-profile issue right now, especially in Michigan, is the effects of state right-to-work laws on state economic development. As an economic development strategy, the adoption of a state right-to-work law is an uncertain and risky strategy, as I have … Continue reading →

Kenneth Thomas has a useful blog post pointing out that the New York Times database on business incentives, which accompanies Louise Story’s series, includes sales tax exemptions for business purchases of goods and services. Thomas’s figures, which are consistent with … Continue reading →

Louise Story’s series in the New York Times on state and local business incentives concludes with an article (December 4, 2012) on film subsidies, highlighting Michigan’s experience. Why are film production incentives so problematic as economic development policy? I wrote … Continue reading →